In this article for the journal Globalizations, co-authors Pedro H. J. Nardelli and Rodrigo Santaella-Goncalves of LUT University critique market-based approaches to a green-digital transition for being based on an ecocidal capitalist system and propose that a green-digital transition can be most effectively implemented through cyber-physical commons-based decentralized planning. A summary of the article can be found below:
“The green-digital transition promoted by governmental bodies relies heavily on market mechanisms that benefit large technology and energy corporations. Literature demonstrates that this approach fails to accomplish its goals of reducing poverty, inequality, and harmful emissions. These are results of the political economy and the social ecology of capital. This paper proposes an alternative framework grounded in a commons-based political economy and decentralized planning without monetary mediation or compulsory labour. We argue that cyber-physical systems (CPSs) can support the coordination of production and distribution in ways that align with democratic and ecological priorities. Using a scalable, distributed optimization algorithm, we demonstrate how CPSs can facilitate bottom-up and top-down coordination across various scales. Through thought experiments, we explore the feasibility of these systems. The experimental application of such tools may contribute to broader systemic transformation by enabling collective self-organization and demonstrating the viability of alternative social arrangements.”
You can read the article here.
The proposal outlined in this article was previously elaborated on in this article for the special issue on Rethinking Economic Planning for the journal Competition & Change.